International and Ukrainian Students from Ukraine in Freiburg

What is IUSTUF?

International and Ukrainian Students from Ukraine in Freiburg

IUSTUF supports about 30 students from Ukraine who arrived in Freiburg after 24.02.2022. We pay special attention to students from third countries (i.e., from Ukraine but with citizenship in another country), because they have to cope with special difficulties.

IUSTUF consists of a steering team of employees and auxiliary staff of the STS Professorship as well as a growing pool of volunteers. The volunteers are mostly students, but also employees of the city of Freiburg in their capacity as private individuals.

A central goal of IUSTUF is to enroll as many students from Ukraine as possible at the University of Freiburg as quickly as possible. On the way, many bureaucratic hurdles have to be overcome, which are often complexly intertwined as preconditions for each other.

The university offers a short-term study program for these students, which requires them to attend an intensive German language course and otherwise allows them to take advantage of many different services offered by the university. In addition, enrollment is the prerequisite for very many student benefits and services, e.g. the Studentenwerk.

Current activity

We support about 25 students from third countries who want to enroll.

  • 11 of them are now enrolled
  • ca. 7 have unsuccessfully attempted to enroll
  • ca. 4 plan to enroll, but have not yet done so
  • ca. 3 have choosen to focus on the job market

We offer support to students for the following steps:

  • Accommodation search
  • Orientation (studies, training or job market?)
  • Registration and administrative procedures:
  • Immigration
  • Residents’ Registration Office
  • Jobcenter
  • Student Services
  • Banks
  • Health insurance
  • Enrollment with International Admissions and Services (IAS)

Through our numerous contacts with the authorities we have achieved so far,

  • that a particularly large number of students from third countries were given the prospect of registration under §24 at an early stage;
  • that they receive social benefits from the Jobcenter, if the short-term study is not eligible for Bafög (financial support for students and those in vocational training);
  • that the Studentenwerk is attuned to this group and would like to help them – but this is only possible after enrollment.

We as an IUSTUF initiative are already successfully active. However, we are foreseeably reaching financial limits in maintaining the offer and would like to continue and expand the work.

Difficult hurdles for admission at the University of Freiburg

  • Health insurance: Since the Jobcenter does not take over health insurance until 1.6., an insurance gap would arise in some cases if students enrolled as early as May. Although several health insurance companies offer flexible solutions to this problem, it has not yet been possible to bring them together with International Admissions.
  • Transcripts: The IAS is required to check whether freshmen have studied “successfully” and requires transcripts for this purpose. These are often impossible to obtain because the universities in Ukraine do not issue them at present. However, the affected students can finish the semester digitally at their home universities. By then, at the latest, they should be able to present everything – with proof of achievement.
  • Residence permit: The IAS does not recognize Fiktionsbescheinigungen (a temporary, probational certificate issued in anticipation of a visa/work permit status) in which a residence permit according to §24 is held in prospect as proof of the §24 residence permit. However, the Aliens Department cannot advance the dates for the relevant issuance.

Future plans

We plan to offer the following in addition:

  1. For enrolled students: Arrangement of a tandem partnership with students of the University of Freiburg (volunteers) for a better orientation.
  2. For Ukrainian students who do not want to or cannot enrol in Germany: Mediation of suitable information offers on work, education or university entrance qualification in Germany.
  3. Orientation course with information on the German university system and support in finding suitable courses of study, recognition of achievements, etc.
  4. Digital Mini Academy with students and lecturers from Kiev, Liw and Freiburg. A range of courses from various faculties is already available.

IUSTUF is seeking support in the following areas

If you would like to support or join IUSTUF, consider the following:

  • Laptops and computers. Many students whom IUSTUF supports left their laptop or computer in Ukraine.
  • The students who are NOT (able to be) enrolled would be helped directly:
    • Funding of intensive German courses (e.g. IOR: 450€ per level).
  • The students who are NOT applying for benefits or BAföG at the Jobcenter,
    would be helped directly:
    • Individual one-time financial support.
  • Needed to manage the IUSTUF initiative:
    • Student assistant hours (40 hours per month),
    • Research assistant position (E13) for coordination and orientation course: 25%,
    • Secretarial increase (E6): 30%.
    • So far, these increases have been financed from the professorship budget; however, the budget is but the budget is already almost exhausted.
  • Almost most important – Support our Concept and Plan
    • Letters of support from all possible areas of the city of Freiburg would be a
      very valuable resource for third party funding applications! And also for our motivation.
      We are very much looking forward to your feedback!

We are looking forwards to hearing from you.

Contact

IUSTUF

Professorship for Science and Technology Studies, University of Freiburg

Svenja Wiertz, Silvia Stösser, Felix Hönnekes, Vera Tolksdorf

Phone number:

+49 157 53116328

Email:

Office-sts@ucf.uni-freiburg.de